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Pierce: ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel could be good — because George Lucas had nothing to do with it

( Photo courtesy of HBO ) Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) rides one of her dragons in “Game of Thrones.”

There’s been some grumbling about HBO’s latest “Game of Thrones” announcement, because that’s what a certain segment of fandom loves even more than the show — complaining about everything that has to do with the show.

A point of contention seems to be that the spinoff will be a prequel, set thousands of years before the events in “Game of Thrones.” According to HBO, it will be about “the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. … From the horrifying secrets of Westeros’ history to the true origin of the White Walkers, the mysteries of the East, to the Starks of legend … it’s not the story we think we know.”

I’d hate to think we’d already know all the plot points.

I get that there’s resistance to prequels. No matter what happens, we already know where things will eventually end up.

For years — decades — I’ve eschewed them for exactly that reason. I’ve made snarky comments about “Krypton,” which we know will end when the planet explodes.

As it turns out, I was wrong. Not just about “Krypton,” but about prequels in general.

I blame George Lucas. Seriously.

George Lucas arrives at the premiere of "Solo: A Star Wars Story" at El Capitan Theatre on Thursday, May 10, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

The disappointing precursors to the original “Star Wars” triology — “The Phantom Menace,” “Attack of the Clones,” “Revenge of the Sith“ — warped my views. But the problem wasn’t prequels, it was George Lucas’ prequels.

Hey, “Rogue One” — a non-Lucased prequel — is a great movie. And the prequel animated TV series have all been good.

Just take a quick look around the TV schedule and you’ll find:

• “Young Sheldon,” a delightful “Big Bang Theory” prequel.

• “Better Call Saul,” a “Breaking Bad” prequel that is one of the best shows on TV.

• “Star Trek: Discovery,” a fine show set before the original that builds on the legacy and takes it in a new direction.

• PBS’ “Endeavour,” an engaging mystery series featuring a young “Inspector Morse.”

The list of prequels includes “Bates Motel” (“Psycho”), “Caprica” (“Battlestar Galactica”), “Hannibal” (“The Silence of the Lambs”), “Star Trek: Enterprise” and “Smallville” (“Superman”) — not all great shows, but all decent efforts, at least. And, in the case of “Agent Carter,” the prequel was better than the original (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”).

(Associated Press | Matt Sayles | Invision) In this March 18, 2013, file photo, author George R.R. Martin arrives at the premiere for the third season of the HBO television series "Game of Thrones" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

The still-untitled “Game of Thrones” prequel was created by George R.R. Martin, the author of the books on which the series is based, and Jane Goldman, who wrote “Kick-Ass,” “X-Men: First Class” and the two “Kingsman” films.

There’s no guarantee it will ever become a series. HBO has ordered a pilot episode, and no decision will be made on whether it will become a series until execs there get a look at it.

I’m not saying it will be good — I prefer not to review a show that hasn’t been produced yet — but there’s reason to hope.

And the fact that it’s a prequel doesn’t change that at all.